I swear I could hear my cheeks crack as my grin spread even wider. “You named your dog after me?” Quinn was my middle name, something very few people knew. Riley had loved it when we were kids because it was so unique.
He ignored my question. “He was a puppy when I found him in the water by my house. Well, it wasn’t my house then, but anyway. He was all tangled up in the fishing line and nets. There were over a dozen fishhooks in his leg and a broken branch through his hip right here,” he patted the hip of the dog’s bum leg. “The vet had to do surgery to get all the pieces out.”
“Wow.”
He tossed the ball for Lady again before squatting in front of the older dog. “Grandpa wasn’t too happy about me keeping him, but I insisted. He deserved a good life just like anyone else. Isn’t that right, Quinny?” The dog licked Riley’s hand in agreement.
Lady bounded back, dropping the ball at Riley’s feet but I bent down to snatch it up.
“Oh, no. If you start, she’ll never stop. She knows her limits with me.”
Lady was practically dancing at my feet, with her tongue hanging out on one side, waiting for me to throw the ball. I gave Riley a smirk before chucking it as far as I could.
“I warned you,” he admonished.
Quinn nudged Riley then, nearly knocking him over. He quickly gripped my arm to steady himself, then rose to his feet. My entire body seemed to zing with energy from the contact. I desperately wanted to take him in my arms again, but Riley dropped his hand the moment he realized he was still holding on to me.
We walked along the water slowly and I continued to toss the ball for Lady. She was relentless with her game, never seeming to tire at all. Quinn, on the other hand, walked faithfully by Riley’s side, only lagging occasionally to rest before sprinting to catch up.
Someone yelled down the beach, pulling our attention from the dogs just as Lady tried to bolt after a bird. I tripped over her in an undignified heap, landing face first in the sand. Lady yelped, Quinn whined, and Riley—damn him—just started laughing his ass off. The sound had the same effect on me as before, loosening the coil of nerves in my belly that had been threatening my composure all afternoon. I suddenly felt like we were kids again, laughing about stupid things despite the worries in our life. I immediately craved more of it.
Without warning, I reached for his hand and yanked him down with me, rubbing the hand that was caked in sand and slobber from Lady’s ball all over Riley’s face. Riley squirmed and let out a yelp, Lady began trying to lick the sand away from both of our faces, which only made us laugh even harder.
“Oh, you jerk!” Riley sputtered through his fits of giggles. “Stop, stop!”
When I didn’t cease, he began tossing handfuls of sand at me and tried to use some of our old wrestling moves in an attempt to lock my arms. Lady went wild with excitement, barking and dancing around us, while old Quinn just sat watching us with those honest eyes.
Eventually, we both gave up and lay on our backs, trying to catch our breath. I turned my head to look at him. He was staring up at the sky with an contented expression on his face, looking so much like the Riley of my past. There was such a pure, deep joy behind those gorgeous long lashes that I couldn’t help but wonder, had he looked that way a lot during the last ten years, or was this moment as unfamiliar to him as it was to me? I honestly couldn’t remember the last time my stomach hurt from laughing so long and hard, or when my cheeks burned from holding a smile all day. It was a delicious pain that I not onlywantedmore of butneededmore of. I needed more Riley.
My phone rang, pulling me from the moment. I sat up, brushing the sand off my ear while I dug out my phone.
“Sanders,” I said, not looking at the caller ID because my eyes were still glued to Riley, who was quietly laughing next to me, running a hand through his thick hair.
“Got a minute?” Jake asked.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Michael Thurston escaped arrest last night. They had him, but he got away.”
My stomach curled into a tight knot and I quickly tore my gaze away to focus. “What?”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on his name because of Amelia and it popped up in the system today. In South Carolina.”
“Oh, shit,” I whispered, doing everything I could not to look over at Riley. “What charge?”
“Domestic battery.”
“Fuck. When?”
“8:45 last night, but like I said, somehow he got away before they got him in the vehicle. There’s a warrant out for his arrest.”
“Who?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
He hesitated. “Amelia.”
I cursed under my breath.
“I can’t access her hospital files yet, it’s too new. You want to head out there? I still have a couple days off.”
